AWAY?...

Burying waste into history

Engineered Landfill with Gas Collection

Advantages: Reduces fires, isolated, can generate energy Problems: - Cost - Corruption - leachate - excludes wastepickers - increases methane generation - 20-80% capture of methane - incentivises methane generation - Incentivises disposal

Mass Burn Incinerator

Advantages: no methane emissions, generates heat and power Problems - Cost - Corruption - Air emissions - Fly and bottom ash - GHG emissions - Destroys resources - Competes with recycling - Needs auxuliary fuel

A LINEAR SOCIETY
ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Virgin Materials

Production of Manufactured items

Consumption

Discarded Materials

Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

GLOBAL WARMING

RECYCLING OF MATERIALS
ENERGY ENERGY

Extraction of Virgin Materials

Production of Manufactured items

Consumption

Discarded Materials

Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

GLOBAL WARMING

REUSE OF OBJECTS

ENERGY

ENERGY

Extraction of Virgin Materials

Production of Manufactured items

Consumption

Discarded Materials

Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

Solid waste Air pollution Water pollution Carbon dioxide

GLOBAL WARMING

WHY WASTE?

Planned obsolescence

"Instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary. Brooks Stevens, 1954

Perceived obsolescence

SUSTAINABILITY?

Running constant deficit in the global ecological budget

In 2010 we used 150% of the resources that the earth produced.

Source: Global Footprint Network

Source: EEA

As important as building a circular economy is to reduce the materials use

Changing the concept: From Recycling to Zero Waste

The real solution to the waste problem

SUMMARY 10 steps to Zero Waste

Source Separation

Resources

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Evolution of separate collection

Source: Catalan Waste Agency

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Separate collection of organics is at the core of ZW!

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center

Value of Los Angeles discarded materials

Reusable items

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center

Next to source separation and treatment we need to reduce residual fraction!

1) Waste reduction initiatives 2) Economic incentives

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center

Waste Reduction Initiatives

Reduce food wastage In time collection of food from supermarkets and restaurants

Plastic bag taxes (Ireland) or bans (Italy, Philipines...) Desmaterialisation of presents Promotion of reusable nappies Workshop to train to self-repair...

effecorta

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center

Waste Reduction Initiatives

Economic Incentives

Pay as you throw system

$
The more you waste, the more you pay!

free

free

Save as you throw system

$
The less you make, the more you save!

free

free

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center Residual Separation & Research Center

Waste Reduction Initiatives

Economic Incentives

RESIDUAL SCREENING & RESEARCH FACILITY

MORE RECYCLABLES

MORE TOXICS

DIRTY ORGANIC FRACTION

NON-RECYCLABLE FRACTION

RESEARCH CENTER
INTERIM LANDFILL

BIOLOGICAL STABILIZATION

NON-RECYCABLE MATERIALS

Local University

Or Technical College

ZERO WASTE RESEARCH CENTER

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center Residual Separation & Research Center

Waste Reduction Initiatives

Economic Incentives

Better Industrial Design

The Message to Industry:

If a product can t be reused, repaired, recycled or composted it should be redesigned or taken out of the system.
We need better industrial design for the 21st Century

Source Separation

Door to Door Collection

Composting

Recycling

Reuse, Repair & Community Center Residual Separation & Research Center

Waste Reduction Initiatives

Economic Incentives
Temporary Landfill

Better Industrial Design

Separazione alla sorgente

Raccolta Porta a Porta

Compostaggio

Riutilizzo Iniziative Riparazione e Riduzione Riciclaggio Centro per COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY la rifiuti Comunita

70 - 80%
Residual Separation & Research Facility

Incentivi Economici

Better Industrial Design

2020
INTERIM LANDFILL

Separazione alla sorgente

Raccolta Porta a Porta

Compostaggio

Riutilizzo Iniziative Riparazione e Riduzione Riciclaggio Centro COMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY per la rifiuti Comunita

7070-80%

Incentivi Economici

Separazione migliore del residuo e design Centro diINDUSTRIAL industriale ricerca RESPONSIBILITY

2020-30%

INTERIM LANDFILL

2020

10. An interim landfill for biologically stabilized dirty organic fraction

ZERO WASTE
1) Is low tech - most of the facilities can be designed and built by local companies 2) Keeps most of the money spent on the system in the local area, creating jobs and small business opportunities 3) Every component is operating somewhere in the world 4) It is better for health, better for the economy and better for the planet. 5) Introduces discipline into the system via residual separation and research 6) Integrates higher education into solution 7) Is positive 8) Brings people together not drive them apart (zero waste is above politics) 9) Challenges the creativity of both citizens and decision makers 10) Offers more hope about the future

San Francisco
San Francisco (1,5 millon hab) set a Zero Waste goal for 2020. Generates 1,8 million tones/year No incineration to avoid competition with recycling and reduction. 2003 30% 2010 75% 2020 100%

Kovalam - India
The implementation of Zero Waste as a reaction to an incineration project allowed to: - Compost more (less fertilisers needed), - Reuse, - recicler, - Gas, - Generate jobs (especially for women), - Change the production system from linear to circular and bring in EPR and research, - Increase tourism.

make love not war.

make love not waste!

Joan Marc Simon Jm.simon@no-burn.org www.zerowasteeurope.eu www.no-burn.org www.zwia.org

References
The European Environment - state & outlook 2010 The Global Footprint network UNEP Waste and Climate Change report 2010 Eurostat waste statistics www.no-burn.org www.storyofstuff.org www.zerowasteeurope.eu For pictures: www.seppo.net Credit to Paul Connett for many slides.